


You've touched the face of God

by mistilteinn



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Diego is touch-starved, Implied/Referenced Prostitution, Klaus is going through withdrawal, M/M, Sibling Incest, can i ever just let them be happy?, the answer is no, y'all know that by now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-07 23:29:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17970107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistilteinn/pseuds/mistilteinn
Summary: “Nobody’s dead,” she starts, and Diego is immediately sure thatthatis the only good news she’s got for him.He’s not wrong.An alternate version of Diego and Klaus reconnecting after years apart.(Rating has been updated to reflect most recent chapter.)





	1. Fine.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sirius_bucky_solo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirius_bucky_solo/gifts).



> okay okay okay okay okay
> 
> so i really, honestly, truly meant for this to be just a little ficlet about Diego wanting to be touched and not knowing how to ask for it, but we've established that i'm awful at sticking to a plan.
> 
> so here's part 1. (part 2 is actually almost done - it'll be up tomorrow at some point)
> 
> (Title from "In the Heat of the Moment")

Diego’s doing fine. Better than fine, even. After all, he doesn’t have to impress anyone (like Allison) or mindlessly follow orders (like Luther). He lives completely for himself - if he wants to go out and get shitfaced on a Tuesday afternoon - he does it! If he wants to find and beat the ever-loving fuck out of some scumbags, find them he does!

Yeah, he’s got it made.

And, sure, his place might be a little small, a little dark, maybe a bit too much like a dungeon? Whatever. If he _wants_ to change it, he can! See - he’s got the fucking life.

Well, until he gets the phone call, that is. He’s just finishing up mopping the gym, about to head down to his apartment and call it a night. Then the phone rings, and what’s he supposed to do? Ignore it?

So he picks up, and it’s Eudora. And, yeah, he likes her just fine. But they’re not a thing anymore, haven’t been for the last 7 or 8 years (has it really been that long since he’s been with anyone?). She’s just calling him on business anyway, insists that he’s gotta come down to the station because it’s “sensitive.”

So he gets dressed to go out and drives over, because what the fuck else is he supposed to do? If the police are after _him_ , he’d certainly rather they not storm the gym.

When he gets there, Eudora beckons him to her desk, expression uncharacteristically serious. It’s at that point that he starts to truly feel uneasy. Patch almost always has some quip for him, some barb about his (admittedly abrupt) departure from the police academy. Seeing concern etched onto her beautiful face instead of the usual mirth has him on edge.

“Nobody’s dead,” she starts, and Diego is immediately sure that _that_ is the only piece of good news she’s got for him.

He’s not wrong.

“Your brother was picked up last night for solicitation.” Absurdly, Diego first thinks _Five?!_ before realizing, no, different brother, no one’s seen Five in a decade and a half. So he shakes the thought from his head and tunes back in.

“He was pretty out of it,” Klaus, then. Figures. Definitely high. Fucking idiot.

And sure enough: “The drug test came back positive.”

He’s not exactly sure that he really _wants_ to know, but he asks anyway. “For what?”

And Eudora just looks at him so sadly, he knows the answer before she even says. “Everything.”

He knows he shouldn’t expect anything different, that Klaus has been taking pills, smoking whatever he could get his hands on, stealing sips from Dad’s liquor cabinet, and _more_ since they were thirteen. But, somehow, hearing it stated so matter-of-factly, Diego (maybe for the first time?) realizes that his brother is an addict.

Eudora’s continuing now, so he’s trying to listen, trying not to wonder why it took him so long to connect the label to Klaus.

“It’s a miracle that he was still up and speaking when we picked him up. Gotta be something in your blood, huh?”

Almost absently, he corrects her. “ _His_ blood. We’re all adopted.”

“Right,” she shakes her head. He can’t blame her for forgetting some of the many intricacies of his shitty childhood (more often than not, he wishes he could forget some of them himself). “Diego - he could supply a pharmacy for a week with what we found on him. Judge wanted to lock him up for good.” Before he can blow up, shout at her for siding against his family, she raises a hand to stop him. “I called in a few favors. Struck a deal. You might not like it, but it’s better than the alternative.”

Diego leans forward, room spinning around him. “What is it?”

“We’ll release him into your custody. You’ve gotta bring him here for a check-in every 24 hours. Drug test twice a week for six weeks. _Anything_ happens, he comes in without you one day, he fails a drug test, whatever, he’s charged with everything we’ve got on him.” Unnecessarily, she adds, “it’s a lot, if you were wondering.”

Diego scrubs a hand over his face, sighs. He wishes he didn’t answer the damn phone. “Yeah, I got that. Thanks.”

“Seriously Diego, if he gets so much as a parking ticket -”

“That won’t be a problem.” He knows she’s helping him out, knows she got them the deal of a lifetime. He knows he should feel nothing but gratitude for her right now. But it’s late as hell, he’s tired, and he just can’t muster it up right now. He’ll call her tomorrow, apologize for being a dick. She’ll understand.

“Okay,” she responds, and slides him a mountain of forms to go through. And as much as he always hated this side of police work, he’s starting to get why it’s so important.

It takes the better part of an hour to get through everything, and by the time they’re done, Diego could fall asleep in his chair. But finally, finally, he’s signed the last slip of acknowledgment, has legally agreed to become his brother’s primary caretaker for the next forty-five days.

Eudora leads him back to the holding cell, and there he is. Trashy leather pants with laces up the sides, what looks like a child’s tye-dyed tee shirt, and no shoes, predictably. He’s holding himself and shivering (the drugs, Diego reminds himself, Klaus is going through detox right now) - he smells like a gutter, and looks so fucking young that it makes Diego’s heart hurt.

He doesn’t speak the entire time they’re going through release procedures, and Diego keeps thinking to himself _who are you? Where’s my brother?_ The Klaus he knows would be laughing up a storm right about now - he’d be teasing Diego, maybe making stupid jokes about the circumstances of their meeting. Not clutching his hands in front of his chest and staring at the floor with wide, wet eyes.

“Good luck,” Eudora says, and claps him on the shoulder. And it only lasts a second, it’s just a friendly touch, but it transports Diego to another time, when friendly touch wasn’t so foreign to him.

It feels like he’s hit by a fucking freight train - wow, since when has he been so _weak?_ He shouldn’t feel tears pricking at his eyes, shouldn’t have fucking shuddered when Eudora pulled her hand away.

But he’s got to go now - he’s got to take Klaus home and get him cleaned up and fed and then, after that’s all done, maybe he can think about this (or maybe he can just go to bed instead - yeah, that sounds better).

Klaus is eerily silent in the car. No funny anecdotes, no completely inappropriate stories, not even singing along to the radio that Diego eventually puts on. And Diego himself is no better - he spends the entire ride trying to think of what to say. _Solicitation?_ How long has Klaus been selling himself?

When they pull up to the gym, he locks the car before Klaus can open his door (largely symbolic, since there’s a door unlock button on the passenger side as well), and his brother just sighs, a resigned sound, and looks over at him.

When Diego speaks, his voice is quiet, shaking. “What the fuck happened to you?”

Instead of answering, Klaus just watches him with the same gray eyes that he’s always been just a little bit fixated on.

At Klaus’s silence, the fury that has been beating inside his chest like a caged bird breaks free. “No,” he starts, gaining volume with each word. “You don’t get to just sit here and not explain yourself. Do you know what I had to agree to just to get you out of there? What you had on you - they could have charged you with intent to distribute! That’s hard jail time, Klaus. It’s a fucking felony.”

Klaus’s jaw tightens, but he still says nothing. Diego knows that he’s about to cross a line, but he can’t stop himself. It’s like he’s watching a train wreck in slow motion.

“And seriously, solicitation? You’re whoring yourself out for drugs now? That’s low, Klaus, even for you.”

Diego immediately regrets it, doesn’t blame Klaus one bit when he yanks his door open and stalks out into the parking lot, away from the building where they’ll both call home.

He opens his own door, jumping out and jogging to catch up with his brother. “Klaus! Klaus, wait. I’m sorry.” He gets in front of Klaus, hands up in a placating gesture. “That was really out of line. You don’t deserve any of that. I’m sorry.”

Klaus has his arms crossed, the spark of anger in his eye more familiar to Diego than anything else he’s seen in this stranger so far tonight. When he speaks, his voice is rough from disuse. “Yeah, I don’t. That was low, Diego, even for you.”

Diego tenses, then sees a small smile curling his brother’s lips. He sighs in relief, shoulders slumping. “I won’t ask you about it again. I promise. Will you just come inside with me?”

Klaus hesitates, looking around them. Diego’s not sure what he sees when he stares out into the empty parking lot, but sure enough, he nods. “Yeah, okay.”

Diego sets Klaus up in his bed, and he takes the couch. It’s less about being a good host, and more about the fact that the couch is closer to the door, so it’ll be more difficult for Klaus to sneak out if that’s what he decides to do. Not impossible, but still. Reasonable measures have to be taken.

Diego stays up, watches Klaus sleep for a while. Even though they’re all the exact same age, Klaus has always felt younger than the rest. Diego assumes that’s where his intensely protective urges come from.

As Klaus’s bare chest slowly moves up and down, Diego lets his mind wander to back at the station. He’s horribly embarrassed over how he reacted to a friendly pat on the back, to how badly he wants more affection. Not from Eudora, specifically. Just. Any gentle touch at all.

He rubs his hand over his face, pushing down an unwelcome sense of fragility, and sets an alarm for tomorrow, a couple hours before they’re due at the police station for Klaus’s first check-in.


	2. First.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> withdrawal sucks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay okay okay okay okay okay okay okay
> 
> so i know when i uploaded this, i said it was going to be two parts, but i really can't stress enough just how bad i am at sticking to a plan, and here we are.
> 
> part three is done already (i'll post that in a few hours, maybe after i finish four?)

When he gets up in the morning, he finds Klaus trembling violently, sweat plastering hair to his forehead. He’s mumbling to himself, eyes are clenched shut, and he’s worryingly flushed. Diego is gripped with panic, the kind of fear that has his breath coming in short gasps, and he grabs Klaus by the shoulders, shaking him _(Christ, he’s burning up)_ and shouting his name.

Klaus opens unfocused eyes, groans pitifully, and Diego doesn’t think twice before scooping him up and carrying him to the bathroom, setting him on the floor of the shower and turning the water to warm. He slides in behind Klaus, and yeah, it’s pretty cramped in there, but Diego can feel Klaus’s rapid heartbeat against his chest, and he can rest Klaus’s head back on his shoulder, can brush his hair back and keep it out of his eyes, so it’s worth it.

Klaus’s breathing evens out and, after ten minutes or so, his skin returns to a reasonable temperature. Diego’s heart, on the other hand, still feels like it’s going to beat right out of his chest as he watches his brother.

Klaus’s eyes flutter open again, water droplets adorning his lashes like so many diamonds, and he makes eye contact with Diego. He looks less out of his mind now, and he smiles up at his big brother. Suddenly Diego is patently aware of all of the points where they’re touching skin-to-skin; he feels like - like, just for a moment, their hearts are beating in sync.

And it’s ridiculous, it really is, but he’s fucking _content_ here, soaked to the bone, sitting on the shower floor, with Klaus bundled in his arms and looking at him like that. Then Klaus’s eyes widen and he scrambles up, darting over to the toilet to heave. Diego shudders at the sound, ignores the bone-deep disappointment, and turns off the shower.

About an hour later, Diego packs Klaus into the car and takes him to the station for the check-in. It’s quick, only ten minutes, and for that Diego is grateful. Klaus has only been up and moving in earnest for a few minutes and he’s already starting to look a little worse for wear.

When they get home, he tucks Klaus back in bed and dampens a washcloth for his forehead. He’s not sure it actually _does_ anything, but Mom always used to do that for them when they weren’t feeling well, and he figures Klaus could use the comfort.

Klaus opens his eyes when Diego pulls a chair up to sit by his side, after he's carefully placed the cloth on his head (brushing a few curls out of the way). He puts his hand out, palm up, beckoning for Diego to take it. Diego does, and relief immediately floods his system. He’s got to hold back the tears that well up in his eyes at the sensation. Instead of thinking about it, he pulls a book out from under his bed and starts reading out loud to Klaus, not letting go of his hand until long after he’s fallen asleep.

That first week passes much the same. Diego doesn’t go out vigilante-ing at all, just takes Klaus back and forth to the police station, mops the gym, and picks up food for the both of them.

By the middle of the second week, Klaus’s withdrawal symptoms have subsided enough that Diego thinks he might be able to go out soon.

He takes Klaus out to lunch at a little diner down the road from the gym after his third drug test and, for the first time since picking him up, Klaus seems a bit more like himself. Diego’s just so fucking grateful to have him back - all these years, and he never realized how empty his life was without his little brother.

Right now, Klaus is giggling about some inane conversation he overheard and without thinking, Diego reaches across the booth and takes his hand. It’s become something of a habit for him - holding Klaus’s hand. A rush of oxytocin, and Diego’s flying high.

Klaus quiets, looks down to where they’re linked, and starts to speak. “So I’ve been thinking,”

Diego interrupts, “Always a dangerous decision for you.”

“Shut up, jackass,” but Klaus is smiling once more, and keeps talking, “I think you should start going out again. I’m not as sick - I think I can handle a few hours alone here and there.” He pauses, continues when he sees Diego about to say something. “Don’t argue. I know you’re losing your mind hanging around the apartment all the time - I’ve seen you pacing when you think I’m asleep. And I won’t -” His voice breaks and he glances back down at their hands again, starts much more quietly than before, “won’t start using again. I don’t actually want to end up in jail.”

Diego shifts in his seat uncomfortably. “I know you don’t,” he agrees, and leaves it at that for now.

A few days later, Klaus starts coming with him to mop the gym. He doesn’t help (at all), but he keeps Diego company, sits on the desk and swings his legs while he watches his brother work. Diego recognizes the look in his eyes when he catches Klaus staring at his arms and back. It’s the same expression he’s noticed on himself a few too many times after watching Klaus walk around in _his_ apartment, wearing _his_ clothing, sleeping in _his_ bed, smelling like _him._ It’s desire.

That night, Diego does go out. He’s scared (more than he wants to admit) that if he doesn’t get his energy out somehow, he’s going to end up jumping Klaus. On some level, he’s aware that that’s what his brother wants - that’s the path they’re both hurtling down - but realistically, he also knows that neither of them are ready for it, for what it will mean for the both of them.

So he dons his ridiculous vigilante outfit, watches Klaus’s eyes glaze over with something akin to lust when he puts on his domino mask, and leaves him in the apartment, sending a silent prayer to whoever might be listening that Klaus is still there and is still sober when he gets back.

A few hours later, he stumbles inside, a little lightheaded from blood loss (but _fine!_ ). He’d stopped a home invasion, taking down two perps easily. Too bad he didn’t see the third - the bullet wound on his side will prove to be a good reminder to always check his corners in the future.

Klaus is still awake, which means Diego’s string of bad luck hasn’t quite ended yet. He was hoping to just clean up quietly, never tell his brother about this particular blunder, but the moment he’s in view of the bedroom (okay, bed _space,_ it’s more of a loft), Klaus is in front of him and is pulling at the torn and bloody shirt, his expression tight with worry.

Diego directs him to the first aid kit in the kitchen cabinet and strips off his top, lying back on the bed and allowing Klaus to clean the wound and bandage him. Diego lets his eyes slip shut and just enjoys the feeling of hands on him that aren’t trying to end his life. He’s not even trying to push away the enormous sense of relief anymore - for the first time since he got shot tonight, he feels like he can _breathe._

Klaus insists that they share the bed that night. Diego doesn’t give more than a token argument, too tired to actually stick to his guns about wanting to avoid being in such close quarters with the brother that he’s maybe (definitely) a little (full-on) in love with.

He wakes up to his alarm many hours later, Klaus wrapped around him like a koala. He can feel every cell in his body - he hasn’t felt this good in _years,_ bullet wound notwithstanding.

And something’s changed between them. Diego would like to say it happened overnight, but the truth is, the shift more resembles the way that sand dunes move over months and years, rather than the way that the ocean’s waves crash and ebb almost instantly.

When he takes Klaus to breakfast at the diner down the street before his check-in a couple of days later, their eyes meet across the booth, and he admits to himself that he knew this was happening. They both knew that this was happening. Now the question is - what are they going to do about it?

Well, the first thing they do is go to Klaus’s check-in. When that’s done, they decide to spend the rest of the day out - the weather is actually nice, for the first time in fuck knows how long.

Diego takes Klaus to the library first. Klaus doesn’t have a library card - or even an address with which to sign up for one in the first place - but Diego has his, and he’s willing to check out everything that Klaus chooses.

Arms laden with books, Diego trails Klaus into several shops over by Bricktown. He doesn’t have a ton of money put away (just what he’s won from fighting, honestly), but he sees Klaus linger over a few items of clothing, feeling the fabric and smiling at the prints, and - without a moment’s hesitation - purchases each one.

Once they drop off everything at the car, they walk to the fine art museum, where Diego watches Klaus closely examine a marble figure of a young boy for several minutes. When he steps back, there are tears in his eyes. “Michaelangelo said that every block of stone has a statue inside of it.”

Diego nods, unsure of how to respond.

Klaus twists his mouth to one side of his face and wraps his skinny arms around his midsection, a gesture that Diego has come to realize is more for comfort than for keeping warm. “Do you - do you ever feel like the block of stone?”

“I don’t…” Diego still doesn’t know how to answer, can’t see what Klaus is getting at.

Klaus breathes out of his mouth, not quite a sigh, looks back to the piece and wipes his eyes discreetly. “Like, if you carve away enough of yourself, one day you’ll become that beautiful statue?”

He chuckles humorlessly and continues (Diego’s heart is sinking - he’s caught on). “At this point, I’m ready to call bullshit. There’s no work of art in here,” he shakes his head and gestures to his heart.

Something surges in Diego’s chest and he steps forward, closing the distance between them. “Hey,” he says softly, a note of desperation bleeding through. He gently cups Klaus’s face in his hands and continues, “hey, you’ve gotta stop talking about yourself like that. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever known - don’t make that face, you are - and more importantly, you’re my favorite person that I’ve ever met. And I know that I’m just your dumb brother, but I’ve met _a lot_ of people, so I know what I’m talking about.”

And now Diego’s wiping the tear tracks from Klaus’s cheeks, but it’s useless because he’s crying too, and both of their hands are wet from trying to dry the other’s face, and soon they’re both laughing at the absurdity of the situation, and suddenly Klaus is kissing him.

It’s messy and it tastes salty (at least one of them is still crying), but it’s perfectly imperfect, just like Klaus himself, and Diego can’t imagine that their first kiss would have ever happened any other way.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment below if there's anything particular you liked or disliked about this part, or if you see any mistakes! 
> 
> (none of my work is beta'd lol)


	3. Fury.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> klaus talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (um diego is rude in this one, sorry guys!)
> 
> (also there's more detail about the details of klaus's drug abuse and this is where the "implied prostitution" really comes in, though it might be more accurate to say "implied trafficking" - either way, there's no explicit detail included, it's just referenced to in the past tense)
> 
> (also also this is a very short part - just letting you know)

It’s a few days later, and Diego knows they’re well into a routine now. Klaus picked out a wall calendar while they were out and marks it up: all of his check-ins (every day, all at the same time) in yellow, his drug tests (every three or four days, the same time as the check-ins) in pink, and, adorably, Diego’s fights (much more unpredictable, always in the evenings) in blue.

Diego realizes that they’re three weeks into his guardianship when he's perusing Klaus's work and notices what day it is - _he’s got a fight tonight_ \- and a feeling of dread starts creeping up his limbs. Sure, Klaus is doing great now, but what happens when he doesn’t have daily check-ins at the station, when he isn’t forced to stay where Diego can keep an eye on him?

And this thing between them - it’s incredible, unlike anything Diego’s ever experienced in his life, but it’s so new and fragile, and who says Klaus even feels the same way? Diego knows that they need to have a serious conversation about it, and soon.

It isn’t until Klaus’s drug test later that week (day twenty-four of forty-five) that Diego actually works up the courage to bring up the future. He’s going to talk to Klaus about it at dinner, he decides, watching his brother struggle to knit a hat while he dresses for the ring.

When they’ve sat down to have dinner in the kitchen later that night (Diego’s nursing a couple of minor bruises, but he came out victorious, and that’s enough), Klaus turns serious eyes to him and says, “there are some things we need to talk about,” and Diego’s stomach drops. Is this where Klaus says _thanks but no thanks, when these last few weeks are up, I’ll take my chances back out on the streets_?

Klaus takes his hand and he’s filled with a sort of premature sense of longing. He knows that this is going to end at some point, and he won’t have the easy access to physical comfort that he’s come to enjoy over the past few weeks. The thought of another near-decade alone almost sends him into a tailspin, but he yanks himself out of it when he notices Klaus’s concerned expression.

Klaus waits for him to come out of his reverie before he begins speaking. “You need to know what happened before I got arrested.”

Diego jerks, surprised. “Oh! We don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want to, Klaus.”

Klaus smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “We do have to.”  

And so Diego listens.

“When I moved out - ran away, really, I guess - I was fine for a while. I could crash on people’s couches, do odd jobs for cash, keep myself afloat. The drugs - they keep the ghosts away,” he pauses, sees the way that Diego flinches, and corrects himself, “ _kept_ them away. So I kept taking them. And kept taking them. And kept taking them. And eventually, it physically hurt if I didn’t have any in my system, so I had to find a way to get _more_ of them, and, like, to have them all the time.”

He pauses for a second, looking ashamed. “I found my way into a drug ring, got noticed by the wrong person. They put me up in a motel, kept me supplied as long as I -” here he stops, swallows, and shuts his eyes. Diego rubs his thumb comfortingly over Klaus’s fingers. Klaus worries his lip with his teeth and continues. “As long as I _took care_ of them.”

And Diego promised he wouldn’t ask, but Klaus brought it up this time, and he really needs to understand. “So you weren't... Wait, how did you get picked up then?”

“Yeah. That,” Klaus sighs, and all of a sudden he looks older, exhausted, looks like he could sleep for years. “There’s an undercover cop in the ring. He’s dirty. After he came to me - he was getting dressed, and I happened to see him put on a wire. I begged him to help get me away from them, and instead, he knocked me out. When I woke up, there were drugs all over the room and police banging on the door.”

Something horrible occurs to Diego and he asks, “Patch said that you were up and walking around when they arrested you?”

Klaus shakes his head. “She wasn’t there. She’s not...involved in any of this, Diego.” He pauses, considering. “Honestly, she probably saved my life, getting me out of the station when she did. Somehow, I don’t think that officer wants me repeating this story to anyone.”

Diego sits back in his chair, mind reeling. A wave of familiar anger comes over him, the constant low-simmering fury breaches the surface of his consciousness. “Give me their names. The motel they put you up at. Their meeting places. I need all of it.”

Klaus shakes his head, “You can’t go kill them all, Diego.”

That's all it takes for Diego to snap; he’s already fucking furious - needs an outlet for his anger. He pulls his hand away from Klaus, slams it onto the table between them, words coming out in a low hiss. “This isn’t over just because _you_ got out of it, Klaus - they’ll just find someone else to replace you if they haven’t already!”

And Klaus looks incredulously at him, face going pale and wide eyes fluttering and hurt. “Uh, yeah, I know that, you _bastard._ I meant that you can’t go kill them all because like it or not, one of them’s a cop. You can’t go and murder an undercover police officer.”

Diego pushes back from the table, chair screeching on the concrete floor. “I’m going out tonight.”

It’s a credit to Klaus that he doesn’t try to stop his brother. He calls after him, “just, be safe, please.”

Instead of answering, Diego goes to change his clothes.

He spends long, lonely hours on the rainy streets that night, roughing up any drug dealer he has the good fortune of finding, but he can’t get a single name out of any of them.

Whoever is running this ring has everyone terrified into silence. He loathes to admit it, but his way might not actually work this time. And if Klaus won’t give _him_ the information, he’s got to get Klaus to give it to someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so basically
> 
> part four will be up soon
> 
> leave a comment below letting me know what you think!


	4. Free.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is the end y'all

Rather than feeling more relaxed (like he usually does after beating up criminals), Diego’s in a much worse mental state when he trudges back to the gym. He remembers how awfully he spoke to Klaus just before he left. He really accused his brother of thinking that Diego wanting to take down the drug ring was only about him ( _and would he have been wrong if he_ did _think that?_ Diego’s mind traitorously asks) and then _left,_ immediately after Klaus had shared something intimately painful with him. Jesus Christ.

When he walks in, Klaus is sitting up on the bed, ankles crossed, reading a book. He looks so peaceful, Diego just sort of stands and watches him for a few moments. When Klaus looks up at him, the soft smile on his face breaks something in his chest. And suddenly Diego’s close to crying - he crawls onto the bed to lay his head on Klaus’s lap.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, tears soaking into the soft fabric of his brother’s shirt, sighing when he feels Klaus’s fingers sift through his hair.

“I know you are,” Klaus answers simply. They’re silent for a few minutes, and Diego’s anger is slowly soothed away, replaced by a river of contentment. When Klaus speaks again, Diego is ready to give him the world if he asks for it. “Can I ask you something private?”

Diego shifts his head slightly so that he can peek up at Klaus out of the corner of his eye. “Of course you can.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been with someone?” He asks gently, scratching at Diego’s scalp. And, yeah, he did decide already that he wanted to talk to Klaus about this, but it still doesn’t make the admission any less embarrassing.

“Seven years,” he quietly answers, hiding his face against Klaus’s stomach once more, and he expects a verbal response (a _Jesus Christ_ or something) but Klaus just holds him closer and the emotion fluttering against his ribcage is no longer anger - it is love, it is love, it is love.

It takes almost a full week (Klaus is significantly more frightened than he initially let on), but Diego eventually convinces Klaus to make a statement with Eudora down at the station. Diego can’t go into the interview room with them, so he paces - eventually walks around the block once or twice. After over an hour has passed, Klaus and Patch finally reappear. She’s explaining that he may need to testify in court, and he’s nodding, saying that he understands.

Eudora hugs his brother, thanks him for speaking to her. She also hugs Diego, who, as always, is grateful for the affection, but no longer experiences the bone-deep chill through his body when it ends.

When they get out to the car, Klaus takes Diego’s hand. Buoyed by the oxytocin, Diego blurts out, “I want you to stay after the six weeks are over.”

And Klaus stares at him, eyes wide, in the passenger seat (the seat that Diego has mentally been referring to as _Klaus’s seat_ for just about a month).

Diego gathers himself, clears his throat, and starts the car. “I mean, if you want to. If you have somewhere else that you’d rather go, I completely understand. No hard feelings.”

Klaus leans in, kisses his cheek, and whispers, “If you think there’s anything that’ll get me out of your place, you’re fucking crazy.”

It startles a laugh out of him, and when he looks over after backing out of the space, Klaus’s eyes are shining. He’s smiling to himself.

That night, they’re in bed and are kissing more passionately than they ever have before. Diego wants to own Klaus, to take care of him, wants everything - his skin is on fire, and he knows the only way to quench it is with more of this.

He goes to haul Klaus into his lap, to bring him close enough that Diego can feel that intoxicating skin-to-skin from their lips all the way down to their waistbands. And Klaus is into it - fucking moaning when he’s easily lifted, grinding down on Diego’s clothed dick, licking into Diego’s mouth like he can’t breathe without Diego’s tongue against his.

But then when Diego’s hand wanders down, reaches below the waistband of his joggers, Klaus freezes on top of him. Diego immediately pulls back, shame coloring his face. Klaus has recently been through a traumatic experience - is still going through it, honestly - and Diego can’t keep his damn hands to himself?

But Klaus is right there, holding Diego’s face in his hands. “Hey, hey, hey - don’t go anywhere! I’m not upset, I just need to talk to you!”

Diego forces himself to make eye contact with his brother, breaking from his thoughts. “What’s wrong? Do you need me to go back to the couch? I can do that, here -”

“Jesus, Diego, no. Let me talk for a minute!” Despite the fussing, Klaus is quiet for a few moments after that. He looks uncomfortable, embarrassed; he slowly crawls off of Diego’s lap and sits next to him, picking at his nails instead of making eye contact. “I, uh. I think I need to get tested before we do anything involving - you know - bodily fluids.”

"Saliva," Diego dumbly responds with, “is a bodily fluid.”

And Klaus sends him a withering look, one that instantly transports Diego back to being fourteen and to never knowing how to speak to his terrifying (and, frankly, beautiful) brother. It felt like he’d been at the receiving end of that expression for the majority of their teenage years (well, until Klaus disappeared). He blushes and ducks his head, mumbles, “sorry, go on.”

Klaus holds back a smile at his response and continues. “We can go in a couple of days. The place that does my drug test will do a full panel and have it back to me in 24 hours. Does that...sound good?”

Diego’s nodding, tucking a curl back behind his ear. “Yeah. It does.”

They go to sleep that night, legs tangled together, and Diego can’t believe how much his life has changed over the course of five weeks. He watches Klaus putter around the kitchen in the morning, unable to imagine his life going back to silence. Loneliness.

Because, yeah. That’s what it was before. He called it freedom, but he was just dressing it up, putting a pleasant name on it. This, what he’s got now, is much closer to freedom than he ever imagined he would experience.

Eudora calls him and says that they’ve arrested all of the major players in the drug ring that Klaus was held by, including the dirty cop. She says that Klaus’s solicitation arrest is going to be expunged, but that they should still finish out the forty-five days, just to cover their asses legally. Klaus agrees easily - he’s only got a week left, anyway.

A few days later, Klaus gets STD tested while taking his second to last drug test. He’s understandably on edge after that. Diego can’t imagine what it’s the uncertainty is like, so he tries to be nearby, but still give him some space to work through it.

Klaus jumps to answer the phone the following afternoon, speaking in hushed whispers and low tones. Diego tries to relax - he knows that nothing will change for _him_ if Klaus comes back positive with anything, but he can’s say he knows what it would do to Klaus.

When his brother comes back, his eyes are shining triumphantly, and he slinks into Diego’s lap, shoving the knitting (Klaus’s knitting, actually, Diego’s just trying to salvage it at this point) out of his hands and kissing him deeply. “The clinic said I’m clean.” He says when he pulls back, lips red and cheeks flushed.

Diego breaks into a smile, clutching Klaus’s skinny hips tightly and pulling him in for another deep kiss. When they break, they both speak at the same time:

Diego’s “We still don’t have to have sex if you’re not ready!” vs. Klaus’s “Thank God, we can finally fuck!”

Klaus wrinkles his brow at Diego, looking a little affronted. Diego starts laughing, rolls his hips so that Klaus can feel how hard he is in his jeans. “Don’t look at me like that - Jesus, of course, I _want_ to! I just want to give you what you need from me. I have to support you!”

And Diego should have seen this coming, he really should have, but he’s surprised and delighted when Klaus answers, “What I _need_ ,” (he grinds down onto Diego’s lap, clutches his shoulder with a vicelike grip), “is this _dick._ Now, please, _support_ me by taking me to bed.”

So Diego does just that.

And Klaus is so fucking _alive,_ Diego’s never imagined he could have anything like this. He’s yanking off Diego’s clothes, wriggling out of his own with abandon. Diego’s so fucking hot, drunk on the touch of his brother. He’s got the lube in his hands and he’s staring at the bottle like he doesn’t know what to do with it (he’s so fucking overwhelmed).

“C’mon, c’mon,” Klaus is whining, spreading his legs for it. He’s already flushed from his neck down to his toes, and Diego runs a hand up his smooth calf, skin electric under his touch.

Dipping down to kiss the flat planes of Klaus’s chest, Diego shakes his head, answers, “You’ll _wait,_ and when _I_ decide you’re ready, I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you forget your own name.”

Klaus shudders at that, spreads his legs wider and shifts down on the bed. Diego runs a slick hand up his inner thigh, circling his opening and pulling back when Klaus presses down against his fingers.

“Ah, ah,” Diego starts, moving to fondle Klaus’s testicles, “Don’t make me tie you up.”

Klaus tries to snarl at him. “Fuck you, asshole,” but the words come out more as a sigh when Diego gets his hand on Klaus’s dick (already red and straining and leaking all over his stomach).

While he’s pumping Klaus’s cock, he once more presses a finger against his opening, this time actually breaching the ring of muscle. When he’s two knuckles deep, Klaus yanks him up to press their lips together, the kiss more them just trying to maintain contact everywhere at once.

Diego presses in a second finger and is rewarded with a sharp bite for his troubles. Lower lip stinging, he pulls back to look at Klaus, pupils blown wide.

“Oops, sorry.” And Klaus is far too smug for having two fingers inside of him, so Diego twists them, thrusting in hard until he feels Klaus’s prostate, until he’s keening and his cock is twitching. He slips a third finger in, rushing it a bit, yeah, but Klaus is just as eager, eyes tightly scrunched shut, muttering things like _please, please, I can take it, let me have it_ and look, Diego is only human.

He looks down between Klaus’s legs, to where his hole is red and wet and so so ready, and he can’t resist thumbing the rim, saying, “Look at you, so needy for it. I bet I could get all my whole fist in there and you’d still beg for more.”

And Klaus shudders, fucking shudders at that, cracks an eye open. “If you don’t get your cock in me right now -” he breaks off with a choked gasp when Diego pulls his fingers out, leaving him empty and exposed, and so fucking wet that they’re gonna have to change the sheets before they go to sleep tonight.

Diego wipes his hand on the sheet (yes, definitely going to want to change those) before placing a hand behind Klaus’s knee, bringing his leg up between them to effectively fold him in half, spreading him even farther open. Diego lines up, strokes himself once, and presses in, pausing when he bottoms out.

Klaus is panting, a quiet chorus of _oh, oh, oh_ coming from the head of the bed, and he nudges Diego into moving, digs a heel into the back of his thigh.

So Diego starts slow, getting accustomed to his brother’s body, then gradually speeds up, thrusting so hard that Klaus (head thrown back, scratching at Diego’s chest and shoulders for purchase) is actually moving up the bed enough that every few strokes, Diego has to haul him back down.

And then Diego is rubbing his cock again, and Klaus is sobbing, he’s clenching so tightly around Diego that he’s seeing stars, and Klaus is spilling into his hand and all over his stomach. Diego gets two or three more good thrusts in before his hips are stuttering and he’s coming too, moaning out Klaus’s name, holding so tightly to the back of his thigh that Klaus’ll have a bruise there tomorrow.

Somehow, he convinces Klaus to get up long enough for him to change the sheets, and they tumble into the haphazardly made bed, asleep before their heads hit the pillows. The next day, he sucks Klaus off in the shower before his check-in, and he looks fucking radiant when they go out to lunch after.

Diego’s not stupid. He knows that Klaus isn’t all better, that he’s still fighting the cravings. He knows that he’s still got to work on talking to Klaus instead of storming off to punch things. He knows that they’ve both got a long way to go before either of them can be considered ‘fine,’ but he’s starting to be okay with that.

When Klaus drags him out of the diner and down the street towards the library (to sign up for his _own_ card - he’s finally got an address he can use!), Diego knows that they’ll get there. It’ll take time, yeah, but they’ll get there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the only notes i wrote for this chapter were as follows:
> 
> \- Getting tested  
> \- Getting the bad guys arrested  
> \- Getting that good dick (hell yea)
> 
> lol 
> 
> as always, leave me a comment (i have a pathological need for attention on the internet, so feedback fuels my 6k writing binges)
> 
> ** also please leave me a comment if you're interested in reading a Regency-type ABO Diego/Klaus fic. I've started one, but it's the first time i've ever written anything like this, and i'm not sure that anyone even wants it???


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